Locale: Viñales is famous for its mogotes, large limestone formations which date back to the Jurassic period.  I have seen these rock formations described as a “striking karst landscape” and “a series of tall, rounded hills that rise abruptly from the flat plain of the [Viñales] valley.”

Weather:  80s.  Sunny.

Itinerary: West to Viñales and back to Soroa

Overnight: Villa Soroa

Excursions: Early departure at 6 am.  Breakfast at Dary y Tuty, birding at Cueva del Indio, visit to family-owned tobacco farm, short tour of Viñales and its market, lunch at organic farm Finca Agroecológica el Paraíso, birding at the town dump, birding at Los Jazmines,  birding at shrimp farm, buffet dinner at hotel

Habitats: Forested mogotes.   Agricultural land.

Bird Species (partial listing, by family): Ring-Necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Snail Kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis), Cuban Martin (Progne cryptoleuca), Cuban Solitaire (Myadestes elisabeth), Olive-Capped Warbler (Setophaga pityophilia), Red-Legged Honeycreeper (Cyanerpes cyaneus), Western Spindalis (Spindalis zena), Cuban Blackbird (Dives atroviolaceus)

Other Species: Hutia, captive (Capromys pilorides)

Guides and Driver: Angel, David, Liu and Carlos

Observations: This is prime land for growing tobacco; we had an opportunity to buy both cigars and coffee beans (I opted for the coffee).

Our lunch was excellent and quite the feast; it was the only time during the trip when we were allowed to eat fresh vegetables.  Concocted of herbs, spices, and rum, the anti-stress drink was uniquely delicious.

We encountered living statues at Los Jazmines lookout.

Reflections:  As you all know, I am an animal rights activist in the US, so I asked our guide about cats and dogs in Cuba; he replied that they are not treated very well.  We have seen both cats and dogs roaming the streets, and even wandering around the hotel grounds, but these animals are not companions as in the US.  Basically, cats and dogs fend for themselves.  It horrifies me, but I understand that caring for these animals is not a priority.  I’m told that rabies is not a big issue in Cuba, so that’s a blessing.  When I get home, I will research how I can help Cuban animal welfare organizations (I know they do exist).  Probably providing funds for spay/neuter services for both cats and dogs would be a place to start.

Images:

We are looking at one of the mogotes.

Here is a closer view of the rock structure called a mogote.

This area of Cuba is famous for its tobacco.

We are visiting a family-owned tobacco farm.

This lovely church faces the central plaza in Viñales.

After lunch, I wandered through the restaurant’s vegetable garden.

Locale: Located in Matanzas Province, the Zapata Swamp, the largest wetland in Cuba, is also the largest in the Caribbean, and the best preserved to date in the Antilles.

Ernest Hemingway lived at the property known as Finca Vigía from mid 1939 to 1960, renting it at first, and then buying it in December 1940 after he married his third wife, the journalist Martha Gellhorn.  Hemingway paid $12,500 for the property, using the royalties from his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.  At the Finca, Hemingway also wrote The Old Man and the Sea (which seems to be required reading for many an American high school student).  After Hemingway’s death by suicide in 1961, the Cuban government took over the property and maintains it as a museum.

Weather:  80s.  Sunny.

Itinerary: West to Santo Tomás, birding at La Turba in Ciénaga de Zapata, back to Playa Larga, north to Australia, west on Carretera Central to La Habana, south to Soroa in Pinar del Rio Province

Overnight: Villa Soroa

Excursions: Early departure at 5:20, picnic breakfast on bus, birding at Santo Tomás with boat excursion to blind, late lunch at paladar Il Divino, visit Hemingway’s home at Finca Vigía, buffet dinner at hotel

Habitats: Tropical dry forest.  Marsh.  Some farmland.  Botanical garden.

Bird Species (partial listing, by family): Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura), Cuban Peewee (Contopus caribaeus), Thick-Billed Vireo (Vireo crassirostris), Zapata Wren (Ferminia cerverai), Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos), Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas), Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)

Guides and Driver: Angel, David, Liu, Esdrey and Carlos

Observations: On our way to Havana, we were stopped for a short while by a road accident: a truck had spilled construction rocks all over the road.

We like our hotel (once we got used to the idea that there’s no water between 10 pm and 6 am).  The cabanas are kind of funky looking — in fact, I don’t even know that they are designed in any kind of architectural style:  maybe mid-century modern (“sleek angular features with a minimalist look and openness to nature”), though I don’t know about the A-frame construction and the stained glass in vibrating primary colors.  The pool is certainly lovely.

Marti and I watched a bit of the World Baseball Classic on TV; many countries send teams to the tournament, but I had not heard of it.

Reflections:  So far, none of us have gotten sick, and that’s probably because our guide has been very insistent about the precautions we should be taking.  Most important is the water: bottled water is provided at all times, and we are reminded to drink as much as we need to.  We are also reminded never to drink the water out of the tap, not to brush our teeth with it, and not to get it in our mouths.  Cuban water is not “dirty” of course; it simply contains a different set of microbes than we are used to, or at least this is my interpretation of this stricture about water.  The latest scientific consensus is that we all have collections of symbiotic, commensal, and pathogenic bacteria, along with fungi and viruses, living in our bodies.  And where does our microbiome come from?  Our environment.  It makes sense to me that we should be careful about introducing alien microbiota into our bodies.

Images:

We traveled by boat along this waterway, in search of en elusive Cuban endemic.

We’re waiting for the road to be cleared, after a rare road accident (no one was injured).

I have to include this photo of a classic American car!

The Cuban flag flies above a petrol station/rest stop.

We’re looking into one of the rooms at Hemingway’s home at Finca Vigía.

Hemingway’s home has been preserved as he left it; this is his typewriter.

Hemingway’s boat, the Pilar, has also been preserved at the museum.